Albus Potter and the Founders' Figurine
by This one and the other one
Summary: Future fic. Albus Potter goes to Hogwarts for his first year, and seems to have inherited his father's need to solve the castle's mystery, just in time, for the school could soon tear itself apart from the inside out. Summary sucks so does the title. R
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: We… don't… own… Harry Potter…**

_But now the doors were slamming all along the scarlet train, and the blurred outlines of parents were swarming forward for final kisses, last-minute reminders. Albus jumped into the carriage and Ginny closed the door behind him. Students were hanging from the windows nearest them._

_The train began to move, and Harry walked alongside it, watching his son's thin face, already ablaze with excitement. Harry kept smiling and waving, even though it was like a little bereavement, watching his son glide away from him..._

_The last trace of steam evaporated in the autumn air. The train rounded a corner. Harry's hand was still raised in farewell_

_"He'll be all right," muttered Ginny._

_"I know he will…"_

Perhaps if Albus hadn't been waving out the window at the dwindling figure of his father he would have noticed the two red-haired people enter the compartment. However, he did not, and nearly jumped out the window itself when he heard a sly voice remark, "Why, if it isn't James. James Potter, my old nemesis." After a moment he realized who had spoken, and he was no longer worried.

Sure enough, just as he turned his head, he saw his brother spring from the seat and bellow, "FREDRICK WEASLEY! We meet again! Has it been not… _four _days?!" They both drew their wands and put their faces so close together that their noses were nearly touching. "Come," they both shouted, "let us have a duel of epic proportions!" With that, the two friends stalked into the hall, their leaving Albus alone with his cousin Tori.

Having the feeling he would not be welcome when a large parade of James' friends came barging through him, Albus decided it would be wise to find a new compartment, and his cousin, Rose. He also had the feeling it would be rude not to invite Tori, so he turned to the stocky female, and asked her, rather awkwardly, "Um… I'm going to go find Rose, so if you want to come, well… You can." She shook her head vigorously, and with a sigh of relief, he slipped the door open, and started down the hall, completely ignoring the 'friendly' duel his relatives were partaking in.

Looking for Rose did not prove difficult, for within a moment of searching, there was an excited shriek behind him, and she bounded up, jumping the last few feet toward him. She had an immense smile planted on her face, her two front teeth just as large as her mother's had been at that age. "Finally!" she half giggled half screeched, "It's taken me forever to find you. Let's go get a compartment, before they're all full."

Unfortunately for them, they were all full. Or nearly so. After looking frantically through frosted glass for a compartment, they finally found one with their two only requirements. Two empty seats (this one happened to have three) and only first years as occupants. Albus gingerly stuck his head in the door, and asked feebly, "Um… can me and my cousin sit here?" He looked through the cast inside the area, and regretted what he had said almost instantly.

There were two boys and a girl. The girl, everyone knew as the daughter of the infamous Gregory Goyle, Veronica. She had jet black hair and grey eyes, and appeared to already be wearing her uniform, but when one gave a closer look, you would realize she was, in fact, sporting a wizarding robe, but not the standard black of Hogwarts. Rather, this one was a green so dark it gave the illusion of being black. She seemed peeved, a sign that she'd been interrupted during mindless chattering. The other, Albus did not recognize, but judging by his dark complexion and Rose's intake of breath when her eyes trailed over him, it was safe to say he was, as James would say, a 'Pretty-Boy Zabini.' He boasted short black hair and skin that seemed a mixture between African and Middle Eastern. In his lap rested a book, the title remaining unseen. The final occupant Albus would not recognize had Uncle Ron not specifically said his name: the blond staring out the window was Scorpius Malfoy.

Albus asked his question again, as he cautiously took a seat across from him, Rose across from the Zabini. He was met with the response, "I can't very well stop you now, can I?"

The black-haired boy gave his peer a grin, "I guess you can't."

Scorpius almost seemed to smirk at that. Even so, an air of awkward silence weighed down on the compartment. Albus, having grown up with the closest thing to quiet being the muggle traffic outside Grimmauld Place, felt uneasy with only the sounds of the train rumbling on. As such, he asked the most predominant question for first years, "So, what house do you think you'll be in?"

Veronica sneered vehemently, "Slytherin, right guys?"

She was met with a vigorous nod from the Zabini, who may not have heard the question, being so absorbed in his book. Likewise, Scorpius responded, "Yeah…" He seemed more interested in the clouds than the question at hand.

Albus was not put off, "So, why?"

Veronica cackled, sounding oddly similar to a crow, "What other house is there?"

"Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw."

"I meant what house is there worth being in." Albus answered her with his previous response, coming off slightly irritated this time. Sensing his annoyance, Veronica pressed on, eager to force these intruders out of _her _territory. "My father says that Gryffindor hasn't turned out any truly powerful wizards. After all, what's the point of knowing something if you don't use it? Personally, I think it shows weakness."

This time it was Rose's turn to speak up against this Veronica, "Maybe being able to control yourself shows more strength. Y'know?" For this she received a dreadful glare from the other female, but not a witty response. On the contrary, her companion's (the one with the book) face was an odd twist between disappointment at her failure to tell off someone with less blood purity than her, but was almost smirking. Scorpius was staring at the clouds, which were about to let way and drench the surrounding fields, his face passive.

"You- you don't want to be in Gryffindor, do you? Then again, knowing your family's history, I shouldn't be surprised." Again, it was the Goyle who spoke, the others being too immersed in their activities. The glare she received from the cousins across the seat was far worse than the one she had given.

"Yes, we do." Although Albus did not exactly agree with Rose, he did not contradict her, figuring he wanted to be in Gryffindor, but would be perfectly fine otherwise because of his father's words. "And what were you saying about our family?"

Once again, the vicious female picked further into the making of a fight, "Oh, just that it's full of blood traitors and halfbloods? I suppose you have muggleborns thrown in there too?" To her, this was the ultimate insult. To them, however it was rather funny, and they couldn't stop themselves from smiling.

Scorpius joined the conversation, though he did not pry his eyes from the window, "That's Granger's kid."

Veronica was baffled, "Granger?"

"You know nothing about the second time Voldemort came to power, do you?"

She shrugged, "Well, it wasn't a Death Eater, right?"

Scorpius couldn't help but let out a laugh, which to Albus, sounded surprisingly friendly, "Hermione Granger was the only full time companion of the _famous _Harry Potter." Upon a dirty look from Albus, Scorpius added, "Well, your dad's famous, what do you expect me to say?"

Veronica asked, "How do you know who everyone's parents are?"

"I paid attention to who people were with at the train station… what were you doing?"

"Me and Cyrus were looking for you everywhere!!!"

The boy with Middle Eastern features, apparently Cyrus, spoke, "Not true. She looked for you. I followed."

Everyone in the compartment was slightly taken aback, for this was a rare occasion; Cyrus was talking, and had yet to put his nose back into his book, which was spread open on his lap, face up. "Oh!" exclaimed Rose, noticing the title, "I _love _that story. Have you read it before?" The Zabini looked at her cautiously, and down to his copy of the play 'Hamlet,' seeming to contemplate what was a proper response.

"My seventh time. You have to give it to muggles, their literature is exceptional." Without another word, he picked up the play and resumed reading the age-old tale. Veronica, however, had more ideas about just what made a book great.

Looking at Cyrus, she said sweetly, (although after meeting her, it was hard to actually think of it as sweet) "Cyrus! You must like some wizarding books too."

To which he responded, "The best piece of wizard fiction is 'Magical Me.'"

It was met with laughter from Rose, until Cyrus added, "That wasn't a joke."

The silence that followed was as hard on Albus as the previous one. In another attempt to dissipate it, he asked Scorpius, "You never answered my question, why do you want to be in Slytherin?"

Still not dragging his eyes from the window, Scorpius replied, "Well… I want to follow in the footsteps of my ancestors."

"That's a lame excuse."

"Do I need an excuse to be in Slytherin?"

Albus could see his point. He didn't need an excuse, but this was a brilliant way to form a plan "Well, I'm not going to stop bothering you until you give one, am I?"

"Can't we talk about something else!?"

Beaming triumphantly, Albus let out a gleeful cheer of, "AHA! I've got you, I'll talk about anything. You can pick."

Of course, all good things come to an end, and the friendly talk was interrupted by the already detested Veronica Goyle. "Since you offered, I think we should all talk about whether mudbloods should even be let in." She found herself the object that seemed to be attracting three dirty looks; Cyrus was reading. Even Scorpius was appalled. "How can we trust them? I mean, sure, there have been some decent ones, but magic just doesn't appear in genes out of nowhere."

Scorpius actually let out his friendly laugh, but it was tainted with a unique distaste. "Veronica, I believe you just directly quoted your father. Do you get all your opinions from him, or are you capable of thought?"

Enraged that her childhood friend would embarrass her in such a way, Veronica nearly shouted. "Well maybe I only quoted him because he's right! Am I not allowed to agree with him? Besides, you don't contradict your father when he goes on about mudbloods." It was Scorpius's turn to be enraged.

"MY father hasn't used that word since his seventh Hogwarts year, and he doesn't have a word to say against them. In fact, all he's ever said is that he's angry that 'that muggleborn tart Hermione outdid every Slytherin' that's a compliment." He quickly addressed Rose. "I think my dad would kill me if your mum ever got wind of that." Rose laughed, but nodded.

After a few moments of angry glaring in every direction, Albus broke a smile. "Y'know, Scorpius, you're on our side figuratively, come sit on it literally."

Scorpius sighed, seeming to want to go on their side, but looking obliged to stay for some reason. "No, I'm good." He peered out the window, apparently thinking hard. Albus asked him why, and the response was rather foolish, so that even as the blonde boy said it he gave a nervous laugh. "Well, I ah- I want to sit on the window seat. I- get a little claustrophobic."

Laughing, Albus and Rose each scooted over a seat towards the door, giving him a knowing smile. Without a second thought, Scorpius moved across one seat, which although it was a short distance, to everyone in the carriage, it felt like he was jumping universes. However, when he glanced up, Cyrus seemed to care very little for the new seating arrangement. On the other hand, Veronica's seemed determined to bring Scorpius back to the universe he had just stepped out of. "Scorpius! You'll let yourself get infected by, by those blood traitors!"

Scorpius seemed to be full witty remarks, giving Albus the feeling he knew Veronica all too well. "Don't worry; I'm not planning to cut them." He put on a joking scowl, looking at Rose. "Yet." Everyone, even Cyrus, laughed. Veronica looked like she wanted to, but refused on principle. Something about the previous comment made her look murderous soon after.

"FINE!" she shrieked, "We don't need you, as you'd obviously abandon friends you've had since you were a baby!" At this, Scorpius looked guilty, but quickly shook it off. "Cyrus and I are going to find somewhere else to sit!" As she walked out the door, she realized she was not being followed. "Cyrus!" Begrudgingly closing _Hamlet, _the object of her shouting joined her, murmuring something about seeing Scorpius later. He'd clearly not been paying attention to the previous events.

Albus looked apologetically at Scorpius, whose emotions seemed to be mixed. "I'm sorry I split you up with your friends and all. But that Veronica-"

"Yeah, she's an ass," even as he said it, there seemed to be a bit of almost brotherly compassion in his voice. Perhaps part of the reason he liked her was because she was like a sibling. Then again, maybe it was because they apparently had known each other forever. Again eager to change the subject, he decided to talk of a relatively safe topic, "Now, for something far more important than what we've been saying. What's your Quidditch team?"

Instantly Rose's response was heard, "The Cannons." This, much to her surprise, was met by laughter. Albus's face was pale, and Rose's eyes had narrowed to nearly slits in her face. "We shall conquer!" At this, Scorpius stopped laughing. He had not considered the possibility that the Chudley Cannons had any fans let alone that one may be on the train. Maybe the topic was not as safe as Scorpius has thought; though Albus made a comment that made him chuckle heartily.

"Conquer, eh? Like you did last year, I suppose." Rose hit him in the back of the head, a blow which was not extremely painful, but far from playful.

Scorpius decided (foolishly) it was safe to poke fun at her team as well. "Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best!" He received a similar punishment, but it was well earned for the approving glance given to him by Albus.

"Anyway Scorp," he stopped after the nickname, but received no objections, so he moved on, "since you appear to like teams that are not complete rubbish, who's yours?"

"The Wimbourne Wasps." He was glad that this was met with a very approving glance, and a slap on the back.

"Ah! Good to meet a fellow Stinger! Didn't do so bad this year did we?" Scorpius caught on quickly. The truth was, they done rather badly this year, finishing only a few places above the Cannons. However, there were a few great games, and one of them was very important to fans.

"Well, we did beat Appleby; I suppose that's all that really matters, isn't it?" Albus went on to say how he was selling their dear team short, they had, after all, demolished the Cannons. This earned him another achy spot on the back of his head from his cousin, and an approving look from the Malfoy.

Over the next few hours, they discussed everything eleven year olds about to enter Hogwarts discuss, and they did so over Chocolate frogs and pumpkin juice. (Albus got Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore as two of his chocolate frog cards, causing everyone to laugh at the eeriness.) Their only interruptions were when Scorpius' face turned white, and he'd open the window, staring at the forests and towns and mountains around them. Soon, they noticed how dark it was outside, and the bottoms of their stomachs dropped out. They'd be arriving soon, then sorted, and were positive their short friendship would end, or at least not increase to any level of closeness because being Weasleys and Potters, they were sure to be in Gryffindor. Scorpius, of course, was due to be in Slytherin.

Suddenly there was a crash outside, with cheers, and laughter from a large group of people. "WAIT!" yelled an unfortunately familiar voice. "I must go check on my teensy Al, for my mother would send me howler if he were to 'accidentally' miss the first year boats! So, mortal enemy, for now lets make peace." Like a tornado, in flew two cousins who were the best of friends.

"Hello again, dearest sister- Oh I'm sorry- brother." Albus looked at Fred Weasley, the spitting image of his namesake, like he was insane. "Well- you're like a sister to me, coz. The sister I never had. Just kidding, Tori's a doll. Too much of a penchant for the rules, I swear it's gonna get her into trouble someday." Their throng of friends all laughed on cue, but stopped when the jokers did. They were all looking at a rather uncomfortable Scorpius.

Despite this, he smiled up at them in a show of minor bravery, "Hey, there. I know I'm handsome, but could you stop ogling?" They suddenly viewed him with a sort of wary acceptance, grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously nonetheless.

"Excellent sir, grand to meet you, I've never seen a more handsome dungbomb in the world!" announced James. They seemed to be slightly less wary as they saw him laugh heartily at himself, but Albus had the feeling it would be a long time before they completely accepted his new friend. _Not that they're going to have to, after all, he's headed straight to the Slytherin common room. _

"Alison, dear," this time it was James' turn to insult his brother, "our darling mother wanted me to remind you to change, and now seems like the perfect opportunity to do so, as we were strolling by." With that, his brother and company all walked out of their part of the train, going back to enjoy every flavor beans in their compartment.

"Sorry about them," laughed Albus, "they haven't had a chance to torment anyone together in a few days. But we do need to put our uniforms on." In turn, they'd change, with the other two standing guard in front of the glass in the doorway, so no one could see into the compartment. Just as Rose, the final to put her robes on, came out adjusting her new witches hat, and everyone left the train, forming a confused mob. Over the crowd's roar there could be heard a loud and booming voice, which first years had answered to for decades now. "Firs' years! Come this way, t' th' boats, four 'n a boat when we get there!"

Hagrid hadn't changed much since Albus' father had come to Hogwarts, (granted Albus had no way of knowing this), the only difference being the gray that was beginning to show in his beard, but it was still mostly black. Just like his father, he received a wave from the man, who he was not at all taken aback by, for though he had met the half-giant on few occasions, it was still adequate for Albus to know him well enough. "See you on Friday!" Albus called through the crowd, to a beaming Hagrid.

"See yeh then!" Moving with the other first years, the three friends went together through a small patch of woods, where they ran into Tori, who walked with them, and boarded their boat. As soon as they were no longer in open air, seeing him with only the dim light of the lanterns, Albus noticed Scorpius's eyes were glazed in fear, and his fists were clenched so much his knuckles were white. The Malfoy was the first to get out of the boat in the underground harbor, scrambling frantically over the rocks, and dashing in front of Hagrid to get through the tunnel. He heaved a huge sigh of relief, and went through the crowd to find Albus.

As Hagrid walked through the doors to the Great Hall, he whispered, kneeling down rather far, to a short wizard with the whitest hair any of the first years had ever seen, "This years Malfoy is a 'lil skittish, I think." The short wizard nodded, and walked to the front of the mulling crowd, where his squeaky and welcoming voice was heard.

Smiling, he began as so; "Hello, dear first years, I welcome you to Hogwarts! I am Professor Flitwick, and I have taught charms here for many, many years. Now, right when we go through those doors, you'll be sorted, which is very important. You'll spend most of your free time in your common room, and have classes with your house. Now, what am I missing? Oh! Points can be gained for your house for exceptional triumphs, and will be taken if you misbehave. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the house cup, an honor if you will. Naturally, you'll sleep with your fellow housemates." After informing them he'd be back in a few minutes, he left, mentioning he'd hope to see their smiling faces in Ravenclaw, his own house.

Nervous, and willing themselves to forget, Scorpius, Albus, and Rose turned to a rather short boy, with black hair. "So, do any of you know what we have to do to be sorted?"

Scorpius glanced at him, "You have to fight a dragon. I've been practicing all –oof."

Rose withdrew her elbow from the blond, "Don't worry, you just put on the sorting hat."

"The… sorting hat?"

Veronica, who'd been listening in from behind them, huffed, "Talking to muggleborns now, Scorp?"

He smirked at her, "Why, it appears I am. So, kid, you're a bit short, your birthday's in August, right?"

The boy glared at him, "I turn twelve in four days…"

Scorpius was taken aback, Albus snickered a bit at him, "Sorry… so... what's your name again?"

Before the boy could answer, the apparent Professor Flitwick returned, saying gleefully, "Time to sort you children!" All too nervous to correct him, they followed him into the Great Hall. Looking up at the ceiling reflecting the night sky, Scorpius let out a sigh of relief. Albus was wondering just how bizarre it must look, to have a teacher that was shorter than all the first years leading them in. Well, there was one first year that might have been a little shorter, but not by much.

As Flitwick placed the four legged stool in front of the single file line of first years, there was nervous rustling of god knows what, but they seemed to have found things to rustle; probably their robes. When the hat was placed, even this was silenced, and with his usual twitch, it came to life, the rip of the mouth singing to all of Hogwarts.

_I am the hat upon the head_

_And sadly I must sing_

_A warning brought back from the dead_

_A caution I must bring_

_So long ago, my cunning friends_

_Did Salazar take oath_

_That Slytherins would be_

_Of him and Hogwarts both_

_Rowena, she could also see_

_Though hers were garbed in blue_

_Ravenclaws with minds their key_

_Should be of Hogwarts too_

_The kindly woman Hufflepuff_

_Had once announced with glee_

"_Mine," she had said beaming_

"_Of Hogwarts too shall be"_

_So last to join was Godric_

_And his brave Gryffindors_

_With his words performed the trick_

_And now we have one core_

_My darling those of Hogwarts_

_I hope now you understand_

_Your unity's in danger_

_Broken will be the band_

_I've told you of the tether_

_All those who're here are kin,_

_Remember, stay together_

_Let the Sorting now begin._

Somber applause met this final statement, and those about to be sorted were more nervous than they had been before. In his squeaky voice, the short Professor announced that when one's name was called, they should come forward and he would place the hat on their head. Pulling a large scroll from his sapphire robe pocket, he began to read of names, "Abbot, Steven!" went to the applause of the Hufflepuff table, "Bullstrode, Claudia!" was sorted into Slytherins cheers, "Curtis, Yolanda!" ran into ecstatic Ravenclaws, and Albus whispered almost silently to his cousin and friend until the G's, where Scorpius silenced him, so he could see where the Goyle's were to go.

"Goyle, Loretta!" Much to everyone's surprise, (and a cry of "Hell, no!" from her twin) she was sorted into Ravenclaw, and went, slightly red in the face, to sit next to one Yolanda.

"Goyle, Veronica!" took roughly four seconds to be sorted, where she went to Slytherin, glaring at her sister as she passed the table of Ravenclaws, angry despite her applause.

Several more students were sorted until…

"Malfoy, Scorpius!" There was a cackle of laughter from two second year Gryffindors. (A/N: This will only be done for some sorting, but we're going to switch to Scorpius' point of view, temporarily)

"Malfoy, Scorpius!" Gulping, he walked towards the hat which was placed on his head, a tiny voice that so many had heard before him spoke into his left ear.

"Why! I've never seen this before!" The hat said to him. "Never in my whole existence has there been a Malfoy I haven't put in Slytherin almost instantly. But you- you're different." _Please, please sir, put me in Slytherin. _"No need to call me sir, but it seems you're rather tough, I might be on your head for quite some time. Now tell me, Scorpius Malfoy, why do you want to be in Slytherin."

_Who are you, Albus?_ "Dumbledore? Certainly not. But- why?" _My family's been in Slytherin forever, I can't let them down. Even on my mother's side. _"Scorpius, I don't think you understood my question." _What isn't there to understand? _"I asked you not where your family wished you to be; Scorpius, I asked _you._" _Slytherin, I want Slytherin. _"But you don't match it at all, you aren't all that cunning. Here, let me tell you a story, and perhaps you'll be persuaded." _C'mon, the others are waiting._

Completely ignoring his response the hat went on, "Once there was a boy, not so long ago for me, but quite some time ago for you, who wished to be in Slytherin, although he held many qualities that would suit a Gryffindor and the person he cared for probably most in the world was sorted there, family prejudice made him ache for Slytherin, and no matter what I told him, he wanted to go there. Finally, unable to convince him, I put him where he wanted to go. Eventually, this was a great wizard's downfall."

_Are you suggesting if you put me in Slytherin I'll die? _"Well, no. I was trying to show you that you need to reach into yourself, and decide, perhaps for the first time in your life," _hey! _ "What do **you** want?" _I- I don't know what I want. Slytherin. I want Slytherin. _"Here's something. Remember the first time you used magic? Do you remember what you did that day by the ocean?" _Of course I do! But why is that relevant?_

"You see, boy, Slytherins are cunning, and use that cunning to do what they want, but only if it assists themselves. A true Slytherins first show of magic would be much more conceited, much more prosperous only to him, as I recall, yours was quite the opposite." _That's not the point! _"Yes it is, boy! Yes it's exactly the point! Don't you see? In five minutes, just five, I will ask you again which house you want to be in. That response will land you there. Think carefully, boy- one minute. SHUT YOUR MOUTHS! I NEED TO CONCENTRATE, FOOLS! My apologies, where was I? Oh, yes. I will direct your thoughts to areas that are relevant if your mind wanders." Scorpius thought, thought hard.

"Boy, your time is up. What house do you want?" _I guess I want…"  
_

The Sorting Hat had rested upon Scorpius's head for around fifty five minutes, approaching an hour. Albus was terribly worried, and was about to yell that his new friend had been murdered by the hat. Teachers were discussing what to do if it did not let up soon, and the Hall had broken into whispers. As he was about to turn to Rose, the hat bellowed something no one was expecting. "SHUT YOUR MOUTHS! I NEED TO CONCENTRATE, FOOLS!"

Five minutes later, there was another shout, "GRYFFINDOR!" There was a shout of "HOW COULD YOU!" from the Slytherin table, then a few minutes of silence, where Scorpius was rooted to the spot in front of the stool, the hat placed gingerly behind him.

Suddenly, there was heard two rather obnoxious boys cheering wildly, standing and laughing hysterically. Just before the whole crowd broke into a standing ovation (omitting the Slytherins) James Potter and Fred Weasley screamed together, "Congratulations, old boy! You live up to the name of a true Dungbomb!" Although no one understood this, they knew it was somehow not a joke, but a serious welcome. He went to sit with the three other Gryffindors that had been sorted, including the short boy whose name they had yet to learn.

Scorpius's passing into Gryffindor had three negative affects on the Hall's first years. First off, Jeffrey Medici (also a Gryffindor) had to follow the amazing 'performance' of Scorpius Malfoy. Secondly, Scorpius had fleeting thoughts of how badly the Christmas vacation would go (his grandfather being a Slytherin fanatic and all), and how he would miss Cyrus and Veronica.

But most importantly, old fears of being put in Slytherin were renewed in Albus. Had Scorpius been placed there, he would at least have had a friend to welcome him in, now all that awaited was another 'Oh Hell no!' from Veronica.

After several more, "Patil, Tabatha!" was announced a Hufflepuff, and Flitwick called out, "Potter, Albus!"

Albus approached the hat cautiously; as if afraid it would rear up and attack. Though he traveled at a relatively steady pace, there was a cry from a certain Gryffindor second year to 'Get on with it!' This did nothing for his nerves. After what felt like hours of walking (In fact, it was about half a minute), the hat was upon Albus's head.

"Ah! Another Potter I see. Your brother doing alright in Gryffindor?" _Uh…_ "I knew I should've put him in Slytherin, but do you lot ever listen to me?" _Umm… really?_ "Oh no, of course not. So, where should you be…?"

Albus thought over and over again, _Gryffindor. I want to be in Gryffindor. _"Gryffindor? You're sure then?" _Too sure._ "Too sure? Very well then, you seem to be truly positive, unlike certain others. You know, this one boy tonight took nearly…" _Yes, I was there._ "Oh yes, you would've been, wouldn't you? Alright, enough small talk, it's been nice to talk to an agreeable person, but… GRYFFINDOR!!!"

Albus was welcomed to the Gryffindor table amidst thunderous applause. His brother received him with a shout of, "Good job, Alison!" and a slap on the back that nearly knocked the smaller boy over. He took his seat between Scorpius and the boy who lacked a name.

Once the applause died down, Scorpius smirked at Albus, "They cheered for me longer."

"That's only because they were hungry, you git," the emerald eyed boy responded.

"I think it was because I'm better looking."

"That you are, Dungbomb, that you are."

"I think I liked 'Scorp' better."

"Scorp it is then. Shut up and pay attention, they're sorting 'Scot, Mary.'"

"So they are."

She was put into Ravenclaw, who currently had more than its share. Shrugging it off, "Weasley, Rose!" was called.

"Weasley, Rose!" Now it was Rose's turn to walk towards the hat. She wasn't at all worried. Something in her told that there was nothing to worry; she was going to go to Gryffindor. It was that simple. However, the closer she got to the stool, the more worried she became, until she reached it. There she realized was not worried. She was terrified. As she sat and placed the ancient hat upon her head, she whispered, out loud, but inaudible to everyone in the Hall, "Gryffindor, sir."

"You know, these kids all call me sir now. I haven't a clue why. In any case, for once I quite agree, this was rather boring. Then again, I don't want another Malfoy for some time." Without another word, the crowd heard, "GRYFFINDOR!" as Rose sped towards the table, sitting next to Scorpius and Fred.

After Rose had been put into Gryffindor, there was only one more student that Albus was interested in. Tori was another Gryffindor, although the hat had sat on her head for a good five or so minutes. As he chatted away with Scorpius and Rose, and the boy whose name they still had not gotten, he was abruptly stopped by 'Scorp.' "I want to hear this one. Seeing only two more people in front of the crowd. "Slytherin!" was where Cyrus went, and both Albus and Rose were sure they saw disappointment flicker in Scorpius's eyes.

After Zabini came Zaire, who was also a Slytherin. Everyone was relieved, because it had been the longest sorting any of them had ever attended. Of course, this was due to a single pupil. Before food appeared on the golden platters, Professor McGonagall, the headmistress, rose. "Hello! I am pleased to announce that the term is about to begin, and no known danger awaits you this year. By no means, however, should you think the Sorting Hat's speech shouldn't be taken into account. For first years, you must know the forest on the grounds is forbidden, therefore given the name the Forbidden Forest. No magic is to be used between classes, and culprits will be punished accordingly,"

At this time she was interrupted by a yell of "Not always," from the Gryffindor table.

"Fredrick Weasley, you are to report to Filch tomorrow night for detention. In any case, Quidditch trials are to be held in the second week, contact Madame Hooch if interested. Now, without further adieu, enjoy your meals! And your new year at Hogwarts!"

The meal consisted of such large portions of food, that in some countries, it would be considered offending. As the Gryffindor first years ate, they talked about all sorts of things, never staying on one topic for long.

Jeffrey Medici smirked, turning to Scorpius, "So, Malfoy. What's the big idea making me look like a third wheel."

Scorpius returned the smile, "What can I say, I'm prettier than you."

Rose rolled her eyes, "They were just hungry."

Nodding in agreement, Albus said somewhat offhandedly, "Yeah, the Sorting really doesn't bode well for this year. And am I the only one who noticed how many Ravenclaws there were?"

April Gregory, a stocky brunette girl with two limp braids in her hair, said, "Yeah, there were, like, thousands!"

"Twelve, actually." Rose corrected her, "We're quite the lot to talk, we got ten this year."

Jonathan O'Roake, a tall, but heavy boy with sandy blond hair announced suddenly, "So Scorpius, what're you going to tell your parents?"

He shrugged, "Well, I'm going to write the exact letter I would've written for Slytherin, but any instances where I would've said Slytherin, I will say Gryffindor. I'm not sure, but they may get the idea that I'm in Gryffindor. Then, I will sit back, and wait for the howler."

Albus looked worriedly at his friend, how terrible could his parents be? "Your folks would send you a howler?"

"Oh no, not them. My grandpa would, he's a bit senile. I'm quite excited to see his reaction, actually." Even after this was said, Scorpius did look a little nervous.

Albus ignored this, and continued to eat and laugh with the rest of his fellow Gryffindors until everyone was so full the food just stopped appearing on the platters. At that point, the headmistress rose, and announced that they should follow their respective prefects to the common room. As the doors to the main hall opened, everyone gasped at what they saw…

**A/N:**

**The other one: Ooh! The plot thickens!!! Before we leave you, some closing thoughts…**

**This one: First off, yeah, those first five paragraphs are quoting directly from the Epilogue, if you couldn't tell. It was probably not our best of ideas, as it makes you go straight from the works of Rowling to our monstrosities.**

**The other one: On the subject of our monstrosities, we're not British, and we don't pretend to know any British slang. As such, our writing's going to come off a bit Ameritish (Made up word, refers to an American who pretends to be British).**

**This one: Also, we know that there are a bunch of grammatical mistakes in there that spell check either didn't pick up or caused. That will be all. Please review, flames will be used to heat our dinner, fare thee well.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own it.**

**Chapter Two**

What lay before the hundreds of eyes was quite a unique sight, indeed. For there, in the Entrance Hall, were strung from chandeliers a considerable amount of animal intestines. The most interesting aspect of this was the two letters it formed. The first, very large, was a G, inside it, however, was an M, just like it appeared on the Malfoy crest. Looking up, they saw none other than Peeves, the 'lovable' poltergeist hanging other intestines about. Smiling wickedly at the huge mass of students, the joker grabbed some of the 'garlands' and began dropping them on students' heads. This was met by cheers and laughter from some boys, but it was mostly squeals and yells of disgust were heard.

"EEEEEEEEEEieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, this is brilliant!" Rose, between screeches and fits of laughter, was grabbing the garlands, and throwing them up into the air along with her cousins Fred and James. "C'mon Al! Scorp! Help us!" Albus, reluctantly, began grabbing long strings of innards with Rose, but all Scorpius could do was stare open mouthed at the initials on the ceiling.

Suddenly, without a hint of warning, Peeves swooped from his perch on a stone gargoyle, and grabbed the Malfoy, swinging him through the air in a sick parody of a waltz to a song with very rude lyrics. This continued for nearly fifteen minutes, until, wondering what students were doing still downstairs, McGonagall came out from the Great Hall, and, trying not to smile, and with a swish of her wand, put everything to normal, much to the dislike of her pupils. "Peeves, what in the name of Merlin do you think you're doing!"

Everyone went silent, as the poltergeist contemplated this question most seriously. "Hm… what a difficult query. It appears I'm _only _throwing a bit of a party for the firstie of the hour. Not every century we get a Malfoy in Gryffindor, you know." Frowning so her mouth was rather thing, the Headmistress looked at him murderously, muttering something about "the Proclamation of Civility Toward Non-Living Beings." Regaining her composure, she announced with a voice so sinister many agreed it could have belonged to Voldemort himself, she said, her voice just above a whisper, "Peeves, put that boy down, or else I'm going to the Baron about you."

Peeves' face was somehow paler than it had been a few minutes before, and with a flourishing bow, he dropped poor Scorpius, whose fall was slowed by a levitating spell from the Headmistress.

None of the Gryffindors felt like going to bed when they reached the common room, because… they wanted to throw a party of their own. Just like the uncle and grandfather they were named for, after disappearing for a few hours, Fred and James entered Gryffindor common holding bags of sweets and gallons of butterbeers.

Three of the coziest chairs by the fire were reserved for Scorpius and his friends, and no one seemed to want to leave the poor boy alone. No matter how much he was pestered, however, Albus and he agreed that it wasn't wise to tell the full story of what happened under the hat. "You can tell me and Rose later." announced Albus, much to the annoyance of his fellow students. Laughing and chatting, and getting slapped on the back all the way to their room, they looked in dismay at each door of the Gryffindor boy's dorms, until they had climbed to the top of the tower.

There, on the wooden doorway, a sign read _First Years. _Even then, all the boys stayed awake, eating a stash of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans that the short boy, whose name they had discovered was Henry, had left from the train. As they received spinach and liver and what Albus suspected may have been dirt, all the boys were amazed at how Henry would always eat a bean and exclaim, "Chocolate!" or "Roast beef!" with an amazing amount of glee. They told him not to complain when he grimaced and said, "skim milk."

"How can tell the difference between milk and skim milk?" asked one Perry Williams, to a shout of "MILK does not taste like water!"

Not too long after, they all went to sleep, and until Albus too succumbed to the land of dreams he heard muttering of, "Stupid milk. I love you, but you don't make me tall!" from the bed next to him.

_Two identical figures could be seen, sitting on nothing, and swinging their legs into nothingness too. Both of these figures looked exactly like Albus, one dressed in Gryffindor attire, and the other in that of Slytherin. For a few minutes they sat in silence, until the one in crimson robes spoke, "Severus! I told you we'd end up in Gryffindor, the _right _house." 'Severus' scowled, but said nothing, looking at his feet._

_"You know, Albus, I really did want to be in Slytherin, that Veronica girl was cute."_

_Albus raised his left eyebrow. "And a bigot."_

_"And cute," repeated Severus. _

_"Did you notice the Sorting Song? It was very… interesting…" began Albus, before he was cut off by his doppelganger. _

_Raising an eyebrow in the exact way his copy had, Severus muttered, "Yes, so? It's not our job to deal with it." Rolling his eyes he mimicked the hat, "I am the hat upon the head… well of course! What else will we do with a hat?" Smirking to himself, he waited for his other side to respond._

_"Somehow…I don't think that's exactly what he meant. Perhaps…" _

But Albus could not remember the rest of dream the next morning and he sighed, almost every week there was a dream of him talking to himself. The people in it reminded him of shoulder angels, and he had decided long ago that's what they were. However, he had not had time to contemplate them or what they had said, because starting at breakfast, his housemaster, Professor Longbottom, had told his first years that their first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins, which had been described to him by James as "incredibly difficult but… incredibly worth it."He was also told that he would know what his brother was talking about when he met Professor Pucey.

He did.

She could easily be the most gorgeous thing Albus had ever seen in his life. Blonde hair, green eyes… with robes to match. She was head of Slytherin house, and next to Albus, Scorpius was cowering in his seat at the glare he was receiving from her, that did not, somehow, ruin her perfect features. "Students. I teach the most important class you will have here." She said this without taking her eyes off the blond boy, so she noticed when Rose whispered to Scorpius.

"That's a bit arrogant, don't you think?" A sickeningly sweet smile appeared on their professor's face. The games had begun.

"Well, Miss… Weasley? (Not you, fool, the Granger one.) I hope you realize that this class will save your life on many occasions." Rose may have inherited Hermione's intelligence, but she also inherited Ron's impulsive nature.

So she said, with a smile to match Pucey's, "Well, Professor, I'm sure all of my classes will save my life on some occasion. Uncle Harry says that as an Auror he uses as much from those classes as he does from this one."

Scowling at her student, the elder woman did what Albus' second namesake would have done in that situation, "Weasley? Five points from Gryffindor for your cheek. Now, I shall take roll call, and say _here _when I call your name. Must make sure none of those pesky Gryffindors are skipping. Eh, Pandora?" 

"Yes, Aunt Venia, of course!" A girl who was less than pretty replied, who seemed to worship the woman before her.

"Claudia Bullstrode?"

"Here." From then on everyone's name was called in that fashion, until they reached Scorpius Malfoy. Shortly after he had replied his obligatory "Here," she had still not taken her eyes off him, and did not proceed on with the names. "Scorpius Malfoy. You made quite a show last night didn't you? Pandora honey, didn't you think it was absolutely laughable. Honestly, the Gryffindors cheer for hours, just because they received one mediocre student. Then again, knowing how intelligent the rest of them are, he must have been quite an improvement." Albus frowned at her.

"Well, I can't argue that Scorpius is smart. But, y'know, most Gryffindors aren't exactly stupid. I think that place is reserved for Slytherins." Albus smirked now, at her infuriated expression. "Also, I seriously doubt Professor Longbottom will give us points for walking into the room."

"Ah, cousin Scorpius," said Pucey, seeming eager to change the topic. "I was so glad to see you and your Grandfather at the party at your manor this summer? What was the occasion?" This small, seemingly friendly comment made the Slytherins snicker, and the Gryffindors look utterly confused. Rose wrote to Albus on a scrap piece of parchment, _When are we going to learn anything? _She was not answered, probably because he was staring at Pucey's perfectly shaped eyes.

Scorpius decided to stand up for himself, "Um… I believe it was my getting into Hogwarts?" The Slytherins were all intent, as the Gryffindors lost interest rapidly.

"So, Scorpius, your rather genius, according to Potter, that is. Name three of the five main traits of a werewolf." There was a pause, and Albus noticed a note from Rose on his lap. It read:

_-pupils_

_-tufted tail_

_-shape of snout_

_ -Rose_

He quickly dropped it into Scorpius' lap, and the other boy, who had been looking at his hands, found immense relief, "Professor, I believe that would be the pupils, tufted tail, and the shape of the snout."

Scowling the three of them, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher attempted to stump him again. "Very well… how do you banish a boggart?" After another few moments Albus felt relief as a piece of parchment fell in his lap and immediately passed it to his friend-

_Riddikulus – and think of something to make you worst fear look silly._

_-Rose_

Smiling, Scorpius looked the teacher square in the eyed. "I suppose I'd say 'Riddikulus' and make my fear look funny."

"Suppose the thing you are fending away is a dementor. What would you do then?" This time Albus knew the answer, and it was he that wrote the small note.

_Expecto patronum to summon patronus—and think of something very happy_

_-Albus_

This time when Scorpius gave the correct answer the teacher decided to try a different tactic of humiliation. "Very well—I'd like to give Gryffindor some points _Weasley- _but I don't approve of cheating. Five points from Gryffindor. And Potter, another five for helping them. As I was saying- wait." Before she resumed class, she had one final thing to mention. "Scorpius, dear. I believe the green and silver banner in your foyer read… _Congratulations to Another Generation of Malfoys in Slytherin! _Such a shame you were not in my house!" Throwing him her falsely sweet smile, she continued the roll call without any more interruptions.

One Charms class, a foray into History of Magic, an odd time with Slughorn kissing up to him and his friends, (excluding Scorpius) and a free period due to astronomy being at night, Albus found himself sitting with them at dinner, laughing about Binns. "No, but seriously… did he realize Peeves was sticking umbrellas through him the entire time?" wondered Rose, as she enjoyed some left over Sheppard's Pie from the feast.

"Oh, I think he figured it would make us pay more attention…" Scorpius offered, as he looked suspiciously at his pie, which seemed to be moving. When something small and black scurried out of it he pushed it away, muttering about his grandfather.

Albus looked at his friend, confused, "A bug comes out of your food and you worry about your grandfather?"

Scorpius looked around sheepishly, not wanting to tell the whole school about his family's psychotic episodes. "See, Grandpa Lucius told Venia- She's related to us… I think she's my dad's fourth cousin or something. To put 'insects and other various vermin' in my food if I didn't make it into Slytherin. Seriously… I'm writing Dad tonight. This is getting way out of hand. I think Grandpa was kidding, though."

A few seats down the table James called to the plagued first year. "Jesus! It's only the first night, Scorpie! Grow some backbone!" Afterwards Scorpius was muttering about how James never had bugs put in his food by his grandfather, and Rose pointed out that James' grandfather (or at least the one he was named for) was dead.

This was interrupted by a small voice of a small boy. "Hey! Can I sit with you guys? I'm too afraid to go near those freaks…" Henry pointed down the table and Fred and James, who, he explained, had transfigured his spoon into… well… it, was still a spoon, but it was wriggling... and had hair.

Rose smiled at him, which, although none but Scorpius noticed, made the shortest boy blush. "Of course you can!" she said kindly and then, "Quick, sit! Here comes Tori!" Albus and Scorpius nearly threw Henry between them on the bench, but they forgot that Rose still had a vacant place next to her, where the redheaded female sat.

"Hey, guys! I can't wait to write that essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts! I studied all summer, I'm sure I'll get the best grade." Scorpius hated to burst her bubble, but some things had to be said. Actually, Scorpius loved bursting Tori's bubble, but he would never say it to her face. (Tori had had an odd, and irritating quality about her.)

A false smile was planted on his face, as he gave Henry and Albus a look. "Tori. We all know that Pandora will get the best grade. It's favoritism at its heights." The Weasley girl (who wasn't Rose) looked shocked at the prospect of this.

"Nonsense! She's a Professor! Whoever told you she'd do that must have just wanted to annoy you." Albus saw something near to pity on Scorpius' face as he made the next statement.

"Actually, Tori? She was the one who told me she favored Slytherins, at my Grandfather's party."

This also seemed preposterous to Tori, but she didn't say anything except, "Oh." She looked near tears as she inspected his discarded pie. He did have the heart to warn her about the possibility of beetles.

The rest of dinner was eaten in silence, the roar of the rest of the school substituting for conversation. Everyone there was in agreement; they were enjoying Hogwarts greatly.

April Gregory, another first year, leaned into their small circle, and asked, rather shyly, "Um, excuse me, does anyone have the time? I'm supposed to meet my friend from Ravenclaw at six." Scorpius pulled out a watch and told her it was five-fifty seven. Once again, they were talking, this time about Quidditch. Henry was utterly confused, and Rose wished to alleviate this confusion and turn him into a Cannons fan simultaneously.

Not much else eventful happened, except perhaps for Peeves swooping about the house tables and stealing silverware and other various objects that he dubbed "Shiny twinkley pretties!"

It wasn't until many hours later that the time again became relevant. Albus, Scorpius, and Rose were sitting in the common room, once again trying to convince Henry that Quidditch was not so horrific. Sighing, Henry muttered, "Look. I don't like sports. I hate muggle sports, and I'm sure I'll hate wizarding ones too. It all started when Bradley decided I'd make a lovely football." At their looks, he said. "Older brother."

"You didn't tell us you had siblings!" accused Rose, once again making Henry look embarrassed. "Hey- why isn't your brother at Hogwarts, if he's older?"

Henry looked at them oddly, "Well, both my parents are muggles, and my older brother is as well, I guess. I think Bailey," at their confused looks he mentioned that it was his little sister, "might be a witch. Stuff happens around her, too."

"Fair enough." Announced Scorpius, "Hey, what time is it, we might need to be off soon." Even as he said this he put his hand into his pocket, but withdrew it without the watch he had had before. Suddenly he was frantically searching through his robes, and some people were giving him rather odd looks. He ignored them, and started emptying the compartments of his bag.

Albus wondered just what was the matter with his friend. Cautiously he said, "Um… Scorpius? It's okay… the clock on this table says that it's nine-fifty, actually, we do need to get going." Scorpius ignored them, now on hands and knees looking under his chair. After another four or so minutes of this mad searching he resigned to slouching into his seat, defeated and terrified.

Rose looked at him gently, "It's only a watch… you can get another one, can't you? Your family is loaded." He looked at her with what seemed to be disbelief and a certain distain written on his face.

"I… I can't buy another one of those. It's been in my family for…" at this point he counted on his fingers, still looking crestfallen, "at least six generations. Maybe seven. Obviously you did not see the Malfoy crest on the casing."

After several moments of silence, he looked at them all and spoke again, nearly in tears. "Everyone in my family's going to kill me. I'm going to get howlers from everyone. Even my uncle in Greenland, _and he's not even a Malfoy!_"

A look of unfortunate understanding spread across Henry's face. "Oh! It was that poltergeist! You must have put the pocket watch on the table and he swooped down and took it, it being a 'sparkly pretty' or whatever it was." Every one nodded in agreement, but this only made Scorpius more hysterical.

"WE NEED TO FIND IT! After Astrology you guys should come with me, or else I'll be dead at the hand of Pucey by morning, Grandpa will see to that." They nodded, but looked around nervously. It would not do them good to be wandering aimlessly around the school, looking for, without a doubt, the loudest of its inhabitants. As they grudgingly complied, there was a singsong voice to be heard behind Albus.

Smiling menacingly and leaning over his brother's chair, James said, almost casually, "Y'know, I was just walking by, and I just happened to hear that you're in need of a little… what is the word? _Cloaking _device."

They looked at him hopefully, and Fred continued his accomplices chatting. "It's funny, James. What's that thing we use when we plant dungbombs in Filch's office? Ah- it could be useful to them, but what could they do for us in return?"

Looking around in apparent confusion, James slid his hand through his hair, and said, "Why, Fred? Could they not… retrieve the map for us? It seems that Filch has put a charm of sorts on his door, making us unable to get it ourselves. As we don't know the proper magic to undo this yet, I suppose the only plausible explanation of how to get the map, would be to… send… a courier of sorts." Fred nodded his utmost agreement.

Scorpius, who now had visible tears running down his face, nodded and, in desperation added, "Yes! We'll do anything, absolutely anything!"

Afterwards, Rose, knowing her cousins all too well, added, "But nothing like being your slaves for life. We'll do any one thing, though." After consulting each other the elder boys agreed that it would be fair to lend them the cloak, as long as they got the map back before morning. Soon they had discovered the appearance of what they were looking for and when Albus had slipped the invisibility cloak into his bag, they went up to astronomy, and lost a point a piece for their lateness. Settling into telescopes, they began the lesson, discussing their plan of action for the night.

Rose thought it would be wise to get the map first, just in case, finding the watch proved too difficult, to which Scorpius shrieked making everyone look around at him. He quickly pressed his eye to the telescope so they could not tell that he had been crying, but then resolved that it was too dark for them to see anything of importance, anyway.

This carried on between work for a decent amount of time, until the overcast sky became so clouded that even the moon was no longer visible, and their professor allowed them to leave. As soon as everyone had left the room, Albus, Rose, Scorpius and Henry all slipped under the cloak, and, surprising enough, they all fit. Then again, Henry did not take up all that much space, which Albus kindly pointed out to him. He had a very sore toe afterwards.

Carefully climbing down the steps of the astronomy tower, the group realized they had no earthly idea where they were going. It did not help that as they were headed to the Great Hall, where they planned to begin their search, they ran into, none other than Peeves crossed their path. Just as they turned to leave, Scorpius, in his hysterical state, had an idea. "Peeves, you scoundrel!" The poltergeist turned around, with mock offense written across his face.

"What could Peevesie have-" It was then that Peeves realised he was talking to air, but, being impulsive and angry, Scorpius left the shelter that the cloak provided.

"Did you take a silver pocket watch from the Great Hall today?" The menace shrugged.

"'Tis possible. Peevesie took a lot of things from the Great Hall today." Scorpius gave him such a look, that although he was not frightened of the first year, Peeves certainly was taken aback. "Well, if looks could kill and Peeves could die, I suppose he would have then." Peeves said, then, suddenly remembering, he asked them, "What is it that a Firstie would want to be doing wandering around the halls after hours?"

Scorpius did not lessen his glare, which he had perfected due to his grandfathers. "Looking for the watch that you stole.

"But surely, a big Malfoy like yourself could simply purchase another watch." Scorpius was horrified at the look of glee that spread across Peeves' face when he told him the origin of the watch. Pleased with himself, the poltergeist decided there could be more fun had with this boy than turning him in. "Peevesie will ickle Malfoy's watch back." At the look of relief on the boy's face he announced, "_If _ickle Malfoy can find Peevesie something better, something worth more, and something rather shiny all in one." The look of relief faded promptly.

Malfoy sighed, looking murderously at the specter, "At least I'm not a good for nothing, idiotic foolish," and so he went on, saying things so rude that caused Rose to kick him from under the cloak.

During the small pause that this produced, Peeves shouted, "STUDENT OUT OF BED! THERE'S A STUDENT OUT OF BED! OH, DEAR ME! STUDENT OUT OF BED IN THE FOURTH FLOOR CORRIDOR!" At this, they opened the cloak enough for Scorpius to slide in, and full out ran up several flights of stairs, down some for good measure, and got themselves so incredibly lost that it would take them quite awhile to find their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Shutting themselves in a random room, Albus said in a hushed tone, "Alright, we must have lost him. Now lets get going before," he was interrupted by a voice that did not belong to any of the humans in the room.

"No! You cannot leave _poor _Sir Korman here all alone."

**A/N**

**The Other One: Okay, I know it's short and rushed. But hey, we've got big plans and this chapter was getting increasingly boring. **

**This One: Next chapter's Author's note: Where are we getting these names?**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Nope

**Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own Harry Potter yet.**

**Okay, this is a different kind of disclaimer, and sort of an almost spoiler. After much debate we decided that we could not have the scene of Sir Korman without some of you deciding it was crap and leaving us. So, we'd like to say that he is being a little facetious, to get our heroes to help him. **

**Chapter Three**

Looking around, they gasped. Completely alone, they had single handedly found their way into the Faculty Room. By some wisp of luck no teachers happened to be in there at the moment, and they were puzzled as to who had spoken. Seeing nothing else to do, Rose called out, almost timidly, "Um…? Who's- Who's there?" There was a theatrical sigh that came from their left, and they turned, to once again see no one.

This time it was Henry who spoke. "Are- are you invisible?" Another theatrical sigh was heard from that direction, and finally the mysterious voice spoke again.

"I'm not invisible!" It seemed rather indignant. "I am stuck in a box!" Scorpius, Albus, and Henry all let out audible laughs. "Not like that, you fools! My spirit is stuck in box…ness, and I have no other wish but to pass on. You see, once, long ago, there was a headmaster of Hogwarts who was the most evil of sorts.

"His name was Dexter Fortescue. Back then, Hogwarts had knights for guards, and I was Sir Korman, the greatest and most noble of them all. Now, this headmaster was jealous of me, for all the ladies loved me, and all the males admired me. And everyone hated poor Dexter Fortescue. So, one stormy night, he crept into my innermost room, and poured poison in my ear. I never awoke, but I wanted to let everyone know just who had deprived them of their hero.

"When he found out I had decided not to pass on, Dexter was desperate. So he cast a spell that would cause me to be locked into this awful box until only the bravest and most pure of heart came," at this point he was interrupted.

It was by Scorpius, who had other ideas about just how pure of heart they were, "Sir? I think that we might not be the ones you want to talk to. We aren't exactly the most pure of heart."

"Scorp, maybe you aren't." Albus joked, and then turned to the direction of the ghostly voice, "Korman, go on." He said, clearly flattered.

"For the record, only the most pure of heart can hear my voice, so you must be-" this time it was a very skeptical Rose and Henry who interrupted him with cries of

"I don't believe a word of this!" and

"How do we know we can trust you?"

Sir Korman's voice became rather meek. "Why, don't you trust poor knights in need of assistance? You'd be doing me much good." Henry looked annoyed.

"Lies! What kind of idiots do you think we are?" Sir Korman had an answer.

"What kinds are there?" Albus laughed.

"You fell for the oldest tick there is, Henry." Sir Korman cleared his, well he would have cleared his throat if he actually had one.

They turned back to speak with Sir Korman. "_As I was saying. _The only way to free a _poor, innocent _soul, is to brew a potion that takes about a fortnight to concoct. _Stultum-libare _potion. You can definitely find how to make it in the Restricted Section of the library. Now go, for some awful teacher comes in right about now and chats with no one."

Rose and Henry still were not convinced, and as they left they argued in hushed whispers. "It simply isn't probable. It's almost impossible magic to seal a ghost, and to free one must be much more difficult!"

"So? It's worth a try to save someone," Albus said gallantly, still very much flattered by the former knight's compliments.

Henry laughed. "Don't you know the first rule of gaming?" They looked him, all with a one word question.

"Gaming?" Henry was surprised that wizard children had not picked this up.

"It's… videogames, on the television," they nodded, understanding somewhat, "See, you never free voices that say they're trapped in boxes, or anywhere else for that matter, or else you get giant black worms rushing into you. And then you get possessed and-" Albus let out a cry of shock as they climbed through the portrait.

"You've been possessed?!" The others' white faces made it clear that they had no better comprehension than they had before.

Laughing, Henry said, "No. I'll explain later. Anyway, it isn't such a good idea to listen to disembodied voices."

"That's right!" said Rose, making Henry blush. "Grampa Weasley always says 'Never trust anything with a mind of its own if you can't see where it keeps its brain.'" Albus was in doubt.

"So you mean to tell me this could be some terribly dark wizard who is using us to free himself and release untold horrors among the world?" Albus asked with a twinge of sarcasm.

Rose nodded, and said it was completely possible. Finally they reached an agreement. Rose and Henry would find as much evidence as possible against the theory, and Albus and Scorpius were supposed to learn of a Sir Korman who had guarded the school. They were about to depart into their respective dorms, when a certain two relations sauntered down the steps, half asleep.

"Ah! Good brother, did you get it?" Albus was not so pleased to see James, and couldn't help but bicker.

Narrowing his eyes, he said, "I notice it's good brother when you want something." This time it was Fred who needled into Albus's mind.

"Now, now, Alison don't act like such a hurt schoolgirl with her panties in a twist, because I have checked, and your panties are _not _in a twist." Albus stared at him blankly, and James did look a little embarrassed as Fred realized what he had said. "That, um, that came out wrong."

James nodded. "Now about the map, did you get it?" Albus and his cohorts had completely forgotten about the map they had agreed to find. As James folded it and slipped it into his pajama pocket he asked, "So, out of curiosity, could you get it to work?" They shook their heads.

"Except if it was supposed to insult you." The older boys laughed.

"If only they knew all that can be seen on this little," he bopped Albus on the head, "piece of paper. How much they could do." After they had the invisibility cloak stuffed away as well, James and Fred ambled happily up the stairs.

"Albus," said Rose, in a small voice, "I think they're going to be serial killers one day." Shrugging he said that it wouldn't surprise him in the least. Of course, they were joking, but even so, it was an unnerving thought.

That night, Albus had a dream.

_"Hello, again, Severus." Albus, dressed in Gryffindor robes, addressed his alter ego, and seemingly twin._

_"Ah. I see we have occasion to meet again," they nodded at each other, and went to shake hands, but decided against it at the same moment. Severus was the first to take his seat on nothing. _

_"So, how do you feel about the- predicament- our little friend has gotten himself into?" This was Albus, who wanted to feel out the water before stating his rash opinions. This of course did not mean he wasn't going to let them be known regardless of his companion's response._

_"I think it's a brilliant idea. I mean, wandering around school at night, breaking into Slughorn's private potion cabinet- it'll be fun." Albus rolled his eyes as this response was spoken by his counterpart._

_"Well, I do agree that we should- only, perhaps this isn't the wisest idea. I mean, we can't know if he's telling the truth and I'm not to keen to break half of the rules in the book-" _

_Severus scoffed, "But that's where all the fun lies!" _

And so Albus dreamed on, as confused as ever.

….

Scorpius was on edge during breakfast, constantly checking the windows, seeing if the post was about to arrive. He was jabbering incoherently, but every now and again Albus would catch such a phrase as "Do you think they know yet?" or "How long do you think it takes to get mail from Greenland?" This seemed to agitate Rose more and more, so Albus was unsurprised when his cousin slammed down her fork and looked Scorpius dead in the eye.

"Scorp. Look. I seriously doubt they know yet. Now, stop talking about it, before Pucey hears!" Scorpius shut his mouth at her comment, but still sent distraught glances about the table, and every now and again towards where the post was sure to come.

Finally, the customary swarm of owls descended upon the Great Hall by storm. Albus had received a letter from his parents, which he quickly slipped into his bag before his brother could notice it. Peeking over his jug of pumpkin juice, he noticed that James had received a letter from their parental units as well.

Scorpius heaved a heavy sigh of relief as nothing fell in front of him, in a melancholy voice he mumbled, "I'll live another day, I suppose." He sipped his daily morning hot chocolate with a glum expression on his face.

Albus pitied his new friend. It seemed wherever they went another misfortune would befall the Malfoy. Pucey gave him a detention, although they weren't a hundred percent sure why, he accidentally sent something flying into the extremely ancient Professor Flitwick's new hat during charms, and managed to cause seven explosions in just one class of potions. Things were going very well today.

In any case, one good thing did happen that day. They had their free period, and spent the time in the library much to the chagrin of Scorpius. It was there, however, that he was awarded ten points for being diligent in his studies by Bones. Most likely, though, the teacher only felt bad for the poor thing. After all, he had transfigured half his books during the teacher in question's class.

Albus, on the other hand, was having a rather good day. Sure, he did feel for his friend, but really, all the mistakes happening around him only made him looked better in comparison. After tallying, he discovered he had gained a total of twenty three points and even had a potion's essay shortened by two inches for good conduct.

Now, Albus and Scorpius were supposed to be finding information that would prove they should free the voice from the previous night. As such, they turned to the once source the never thought they would look into: _Hogwarts, A History_. The more they searched, the more despaired they became. Eventually they found exactly what they were looking for.

There, depicted even with a detailed illustration, was a picture of one Sir James Edmund Korman. The knight didn't seem to match the shrill voice they had heard in the night, but then again, Scorpius said that his uncle in Greenland, who was very frightening, had a soft, gentle voice. The man in the drawing had large eyes, with a serious twinkle, and a cleft chin that was barely visible below a dark goatee. He had some hair, but most of it had fallen away. He looked exactly as you would expect a knight to.

Proudly, they went over to the table where Rose and Henry were skimming through large volumes that Albus and Scorpius would never dream of even opening, and plopped their findings down on the table.

"I believe you have been defeated," Albus said in a mock formal voice, most similar to the one his brother had used on the train to address Fred. Rose only laughed, and told them to read the caption, and do it carefully, for that matter. The two read, but saw nothing wrong with what was printed on the page.

_Sir James Edmund Korman taught transfiguration in 1549 through 1601. He had been knighted by Queen Elizabeth I, but his records in Muggle History have since been erased because of some speculation as to whether or not he was behind some "unexplainable events."_

"So?" asked Albus, not noticing the contradicting fact between what was on the page and what their Sir Korman of the night before had told them. "He was a teacher."

Rolling her eyes, Rose spoke in an irritated fashion, "The supposed Sir Korman who is stuck in a box was a _guard _of Hogwarts, whereas this man simply taught a class." Albus frowned.

"Well, perhaps he thought of himself as a guard and a teacher. In any case, Sir Korman really did exist, and at the same time as Dexter Fortescue!"

Frowning, Rose surrendered. "Fine," she said, her voice bearing a condescending tone, "Now, what was the name of the potion he wanted us to make?"

His first time speaking in this conversation, Henry responded almost instantaneously. "_Stultum-libare. _I'll ask Slughorn about it."

"Yeah. Like teachers would actually give away that kind of information to students," Rose interjected. The others were skeptical but Henry wore a confident smile, one they had only seen before in potions class.

Quickly checking his book to make sure that he was correct, Henry shrugged, "I think I read something about it in this book. Here we go. 'When mixed with Angelica, Camphor can give of a terrible stench among other distasteful qualities, and is therefore seldom used together in concoctions. However, they do have a powerful magic if prepared and mixed correctly, causing them to be used in a few obscure potions, such as _Stultum-libare._'" He looked at them expectantly. They looked at him with blank stares.

"So if these two herbs are mixed they have a strong reaction, right?" Henry received comprehending nods. "So if I ask Slughorn for a book with the recipe for that potion, I can tell him I just want to read more about the reaction."

Rose raised her eyebrows, "Why'd he think you'd want to know that?" At this Scorpius started laughing.

"He actually could tell Slughorn why one of my explosions occurred because of the smell of the blueish sparks. Face it, Rose. He's a potion's nerd." Albus seconded that, and so they decided on the plan. They'd just have to wait until tomorrow for potions to roll around.

…

On Wednesdays they had a rotating block instead of their free period due to Astronomy, and the poor group was woeful to learn that today they were cursed with double Defense Against the Dark Arts. The class seemed to last forever, even though they were really not required to do something, except read a few pages out of their textbook, and take quick notes. Scorpius somehow managed to fail at this by blotting his ink so much that Professor Pucey took his quill away, for she feared the state of her desk. He had to write with her 'special utensil' which was actually a No. 2 pencil. Everyone, even his friends, found this quite funny.

Albus, Henry, and Rose resisted the urge to laugh somewhat successfully. Veronica was not so successful at this. In fact, one would think that she wasn't even trying to be polite. The only person in the class who seemed not to notice was Cyrus. Albus couldn't help but see the book strategically positioned in his classmate's lap.

After what felt like hours, mostly because it _had _been hours, the dreadful class came to a close, much to the relief of the group. When they received their instructions for the day, Henry asked Rose to fill his cauldron quarter of the way with an oily substance. She was nonplussed, so Scorpius offered to do the job. Fearing the worst, Henry declined and decided to do it himself.

While it was simmering for ten minutes, ("But it only is supposed to for four!") Henry went up to talk to their professor. When he returned to his desk they said nothing, to make the event seem more casual.

Class passed, and eventually ended with five points to Gryffindor because of Henry's new potion. As soon as they had turned the corner, the three in suspense surrounded their friend with whispers of "Did you get it?" , "How'd it go?" and "What did he say?"

Albus gave a cheer when he saw the little slip of paper held triumphantly in Henry's hand. They went to their next class, an air of cheerfulness around them.

Scorpius was so distracted from the missing watch that he did not make a single fumble for two periods. After Albus pointed this out, Scorpius promptly dropped all his books in a very crowded hallway.

…

It was two weeks later and the members of the quadumverate were all sitting around a sleek, but disgustingly brown colored potion. The location was so brilliant, which was surprising, because the anxiety ridden Scorpius had thought of it.

It was under Scorpius' bed. It didn't bubble, and Rose used a minor spell that her mother had taught her to rid things of foul odors. Brilliantly simple, they now took the cauldron and put its contents into a round tin, which had once held chocolates. The full moon was rising, and quietly as possible they made three punctures at the top of the box, and then set it on the window sill. If asked, they were to say that it was a present from Fred and James, and they had not intention of opening it for obvious reasons.

After a while, Rose left, and all were asleep. However, in the wee hours of the morning they heard a first, loud popping noise. The three companions knew immediately what had made the noise, and to their despair so did their roommates, "Mate, _what _on the face of the Earth is in the- the," so tired he was at a loss for words Jeffery Medici only finished his sentence with "thing."

"Oh. It's a 'present' from my brother," said Albus shakily, "He said it will explode all over our stuff if we touched it."

"Why'd he tell you that?" asked Jeff, now more awake and therefore more skeptical.

Thinking quickly, Albus had another answer. "Well. He… He's my brother. I wouldn't touch that if I were you."

…

Something of a morning ritual was bound to occur the next day. Scorpius would ask, impatiently, "Is today the day?"

And Henry would ever respond, "No. Not today."

Albus, prepared himself for both of his friends' agitation, but surprisingly when asked Henry only smiled. "Nope. But tomorrow is."

The day was a blur. Becoming so used to Scorpius' klutzy behavior due to worried nature about his missing heirloom Albus only notice when the blond boy's daily hot chocolate was spilled all over the freshly washed robes of a fourth year girl. Scorpius must have had a very sore face, for Albus couldn't help but see that it only seemed to get redder as each period passed.

At lunch Scorpius sighed. "Let's go to bed," nearly collapsing into his pie. When asked why, he responded simply. "I'm so tired of all the crap I've had to go through. My pillow is going to permanently stink. Why couldn't we have done this under Henry's bed?"

"Well. I need my cauldron. You know, I actually bring it to potions." Henry smiled at Scorpius' despair.

Scorpius scoffed. "I _would _if I didn't have a bleeding smelly potion in it." Shrugging the other boy told him that it would only melt if he brought it anyway. Albus was so entertained he let out a small laugh.

Promptly, he was hit on the back of the head by Scorpius.

…

It was the next morning. Just for good measure, Scorpius initiated the morning ritual one last time.

"So Dursley, is today the day?"

It was with an almost off hand sigh that Henry gave his one word reply, "Yeah."

To Albus, any events that followed were something of a blur. His mind was far too focused on the upcoming deeds to be bothered with such things as Ulrick the Evil's fifth victim or how to defend one's self against rampaging krupps (though if he had paid attention, it would have been clear that Pucey had not prepared a lesson plan for the day).

Soon it was after dinner and shortly before curfew, when Albus stopped short in the corridor on their way to the common room, and murmured, with a twinge of horror, "We… we don't have the cloak."

"Oh well," said Rose, surprisingly bold, "We'll have to make due without it then."

Scorpius questioned, "Couldn't we just ask Fred and James for it?"

To this, Rose rolled her eyes, "We practically had to grovel for it last time. I want this over with; let's not waste time on those two."

So it was that they were all standing around in the common room, long after everyone else was in bed. Holding the potion up triumphantly, Henry let out a half shout of, "Behold, for I have become a true potions master!"

The other three gave him odd looks, and Scorpius said, "Dursley, don't get ahead of yourself."

"Sorry, I just…"

Albus nodded in agreement with Scorpius, "You only made potion Henry, you're hardly a master yet."

"But I…"

Even Rose felt the need to burst Henry's bubble, "The book even said that it wasn't that advanced a potion."

"Oh… well… sorry about that," Henry carefully held the tin secure with both hands as Albus opened the portrait-hole in front of him and followed as he left.

The journey to the teacher's lounge was surprisingly uneventful, save for a few detours made to avoid the voices of the staff.

Soon, however, they arrived in the lounge, as made evident by Sir Korman's shrill cry of, "You have returned for Sir Korman!"

Afraid of who might hear, Albus said, "Yes, but keep your voice down, sir. Now… which box are you in exactly?"

The bound knight let out a dramatic sigh, "Towards that table with the three candles. Now, do you see right in the middle of the table? That's Sir Korman."

Albus looked in the direction the voice requested, "… you're in that little box?"

"Yes, it is quite small, isn't it… but it does seem much bigger on the inside!"

Indeed, the box was quite tiny, but on closer inspection, one would notice the intricate carvings of a girl holding a box of her own, from which flew (as Albus would later describe them), 'beastly little insects.' On its side, the box bore writing in a language Albus did not understand, or even recognize.

Shrugging, he motioned to Henry to set the potion on the floor. Now the four of them were kneeling on the floor, and Henry opened the tin.

The once disgusting brown of the potion now had become a somehow more grotesque green. As Albus and Scorpius lifted the box to place it within the potion, Sir Korman let out some last minute reminders, "Now, make sure the box is touching the bottom of the cauldron _at all times_. And you'll want as much strength on this box as you can muster."

The four of them pushed down on the box, at first wondering why they had been directed to do so, but as the potion began to shine, the box seemed to struggle against their grip, trying to shoot itself straight up out of the cauldron. They found their arms sliding about the tin's area, as the box tried all possible route of escape.

Suddenly, the shining abruptly stopped, and a sound not unlike that of a key unlocking a door was heard. It was then that the box stopped all motion, and the group toppled forward from the weight they'd been putting on it, all bumping heads with each other's.

After they regained their positions, they wondered why nothing was happening. Three minutes of waiting later, Sir Korman spoke, "Sir Korman hates to be a bother… but you _do_ plan on actually _opening_ the box, correct?"

Albus took the job, gently lifting the lid from the box, its age old hinges creaking ear splittingly. Before he even opened it fully, a swishing of fabric flew from it, and before the group could even comprehend what was happening, Sir Korman was screaming, "Now close it! Close it quickly before that devil gets out!"

But the group was too transfixed by the grayish hand with curling fingernails, reaching one finger at a time to grip the outside of the box, until finally there was a trio of sounds, a shriek from Sir Korman, a slam from the lid closing, and a hiss from the box burning the specter's hands.

The quadumverate stared in a mix of horror and utter shock at the spectacle before them. Sir Korman did not look as he did in the picture. His head was completely bald, with a hooked nose that looked familiar, but Albus couldn't place it. What was more shocking was that he paid no heed to his burned hands, though he did mutter 'ouch' again and again as he dusted off his… dress.

It was Rose who first reacted to the ghost's garb, "You're wearing a dress."

"Well, by all means, Sir Korman would hope so. Would you prefer him nude?" As Sir Korman spoke, he gestured wildly at his corset.

Scorpius was the next to respond to the crossdressing specter, "I didn't know knights wore dresses."

Rambling a bit, Sir Korman said, "Oh, Sir Korman always wears dresses… why wouldn't he? He means, he only wears them when he is alone… with his friends."

Albus sighed, "You're not even a ghost, are you?"

"Well…" Sir Korman stressed out the 'e' as long as possible, "Sir Korman supposes not. But does it matter if Sir Korman is a ghost if your goal is to save Sir Kor-"

"You're not even Sir Korman, are you?" Rose interrupted.

"…No… no, I'm not," At this, the… whatever he was, ascended up through the ceiling, coming back down only to say, "But I do _know_ Sir Korman, if that counts for anything."

**A/N:**

**The Other One: This was possibly the most boring chapter to write. Except the end. The end was fun. **


End file.
